Readers hoping to buy Five Star Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBC) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date, which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. This means that investors who purchase Five Star Bancorp's shares on or after the 3rd of November will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 10th of November.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.20 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.80 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Five Star Bancorp has a trailing yield of 2.2% on the current share price of US$36.18. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Five Star Bancorp's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Fortunately Five Star Bancorp's payout ratio is modest, at just 30% of profit.

Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. That's why it's not ideal to see Five Star Bancorp's earnings per share have been shrinking at 4.7% a year over the previous five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Five Star Bancorp has delivered 7.5% dividend growth per year on average over the past four years.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy Five Star Bancorp for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share have shrunk noticeably in recent years, although we like that the company has a low payout ratio. This could suggest a cut to the dividend may not be a major risk in the near future. At best we would put it on a watch-list to see if business conditions improve, as it doesn't look like a clear opportunity right now.

Wondering what the future holds for Five Star Bancorp? See what the five analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow

Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.